Dr G.J. Somsen
Research profile
Geert Somsen's research focuses on the history of science and international relations. He currently pursues three lines of work.
1. In a number of studies of scientific internationalism Somsen looks at ways in which science has been projected as a model for international cooperation. He follows such idealizations from the Belle Époque to the early United Nations. Case studies deal with H.G. Wells's campaigns for a scientific World State, Mussolini's grand exhibition Scienza Universale, dreams of a world-wide scientific aristocracy in a novel by Bertha von Suttner, and the secret diplomatic missions of universalist philosopher Henri Bergson.
See here for an interview on one of these topics.
2. In the HERA Joint Reseach Project The Scientific Conference: a Social, Cultural, and Political History, Somsen examines how scientists have enacted internationalism. His focus is on the rise of an international conference culture in the first series of regular chemistry conferences from 1893 to 1914. Under Somsen's supervision PhD candidate Georgiana Kotsou analyzes routines and rituals in later chemistry conferences, both at a parge scale and in small elite meetings.
3. Most recently, Somsen has turned to the persistent legacy of European imperialism in international science.
* For direct links to Geert Somsen's publications, see the Maastricht University repository or his ORCID account. *
Key publications
-
Somsen, G. (2021). The princess at the conference: Science, pacifism, and Habsburg society. History of Science, 59(4), 434-460. Article 0073275320977750. https://doi.org/10.1177/0073275320977750More information about this publication
-
Somsen, G. (2020). The Philosopher and the Rooster: Henri Bergson's French Diplomatic Missions, 1914-1925. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, 50(4), 364-383. https://doi.org/10.1525/hsns.2020.50.4.364More information about this publication
-
Somsen, G. (2022). Afterword: Science popularization, dictatorships, and democracies. History of Science, 60(3), 430-435. Article 00732753211073422. https://doi.org/10.1177/00732753211073422More information about this publication
-
Dupre, S., & Somsen, G. (Eds.) (2020). Forum: What is the History of Knowledge? Journal for the History of Knowledge, 1(1).More information about this publication
-
Bigg, C., Reinisch, J., Somsen, G., & Widmalm, S. (2022). No Amount of Technology Can Replicate In-Person Conferences. Times Higher Education, 24-25. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/no-amount-technology-can-replicate-person-conferencesMore information about this publication